Eventually
by SunsetGirl19
Summary: The loved ones of a fallen tribute pay their respects. Bad summary, .but please read. Gadge angst, some Everlark and even a bit of Maysilee/Haymitch. One-shot!


_Hi, so this is my first one-shot! Hope you guys like it :) Enjoy!_

**_Disclaimer: I do not own the HUNGER GEAMES_**

Goodbyes. Last words. Final moments. I didn't get any of that. I didn't get to say good bye to my loved ones, I didn't get a final moment with them.

I don't know the man doing the sermon but he's a complete bore. Saying the same speech that he probably gives to dozens of other families, _Thank you all for coming to pay your respects to __**INSERT NAME HERE.**_ At least no one is falling asleep. Yet.

My father steps up to the podium, his voice cracking as he talks. "She was the best daughter I could ever ask for."

My mother, sick and trembling, "She's in a better place, and that's all I could ask for."

Haymitch, sober and clean, holds back tears as he stands in front of the frozen body, "She was brave and smart. Smartest girl I've ever known. I tried. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry but I tired, Goddamn it I tried."

Peeta Mellark, my childhood best friend, doesn't bother trying to cover up his tears, "She was sweet, talented and kind beyond belief. She would give you the shirt off her back if you needed it. She didn't let any of it changed her, she stayed true to herself right to the very end. She will always be the best friend I've ever had."

Emilia Edwards, our housekeeper looks down at the floor, not letting anyone see her tears fall, "She was kind-hearted, she had an inner spark in her that I've never seen in anyone else. She was a gem of a person."

Katniss Everdeen, the girl that would sit next to be a lunch, stands with shaking hands and nervous eyes, "She was a good person. I didn't know her very well, but that much I know. She was a good person."

The man starts speaking again but I tune him out, looking at the faces of my loved ones, the ones I never got to say goodbye to. They begin to lower the casket into the dirt and my mother collapses onto the ground in a fit of tears, weeping hysterically. My father picks her up cradling her head in his chest as his tears blend with hers until she faints from pure exhaustion. She hasn't slept in weeks. He picks he up bridal style, she couldn't weigh more than ninety pounds and begins to carry her home, the home that suddenly feels too big for just the two of them.

Emilia goes with them, and Peeta stands very close to Katniss, their fingers almost touching. He kneels down besides the fresh grave stone, kissing his three middle fingers and saluting it. She kneels down next to him and hugs him once, a rare gesture for Katniss. "Can you walk me home?" she asks looking beautiful in her old green dress with tears in her eyes and a blush on her cheeks. Peeta smiles, a real smile, nodding once. Their fingers intertwine as they walk off.

And now there's just Haymitch, standing over the grave with pain in his eyes, "I tried, but it wasn't hard enough it's never hard enough." A twig snaps and his head swivels around to see the young man standing behind him. "What the hell do you think you're doing here?"

"I'm paying my respects."

"Like hell you are! "

"Haymitch," the man seethes, "I can't do this today."

"Why are you here?"

The man sighs, rubbing his face with his hand, "To pay my respects."

"To pay your respects," Haymitch laughs out loud, the sound bouncing off the trees and gravestones. "You're the reason she's not here!"

The man's eyes get a dangerous glare to them, "Don't."

But Haymitch doesn't listen, "You're the reason why she's _there!_" He says pointing accusingly to the fresh grave.

"Stop."

" She _loved _you! She _died _trying to save you!"

"You don't think I know that!" the man exploded, anger and pain mixing on his once beautiful face. "You think I can't close my eyes without seeing her face, you think that every blonde that walks by doesn't give me a heart attack, you think that I don't see her everywhere in everything! Is that what you think!"

"I think you're an idiot."

The man laughs, a sadistic humorless laugh, "You and me both."

"She loved you."

"She didn't love me."

"She _loved you_!"

"No, she didn't!"

Haymitch grabs him by the collar off his shirt, rage in his eyes, "Don't you give that bullshit! Don't you give me the shit that you feed Caesar and all those reporters, don't you dare tell me 'We were just friends, we just cared about each other'! She didn't jump in front of you, she didn't take a knife to the chest, she didn't save you from Clove because she _cared _about you!"

He releases the man and he falls to the floor, his head cradled in his hands. And he does the one thing he's refused to do since he got home. He cries. He finally lets the sheds the tears that he's being saving since that day. "You think I don't know that? You don't know. None of you know! None of you know what it's like to know that I couldn't save her. I couldn't save her! And now I'm here and she's gone, and it's my fault." The man pauses breathing deeply, "If I can convince everyone, if I can convince myself that it was just caring about one another, if it was just friendship, then maybe it won't hurt as much."

The man looks up at his former mentor to find him staring at a grave stone next to the fresh one. A gravestone belonging to a Maysilee Donner. "She loved you."

"I know. And by the time I sorted out all my fucked up feelings it was too late. It was too late to tell her."

Haymitch touches the older grave marker, tracing the letters with his finger, "That's always the way." The man looks up at him again and Haymitch shakes his head, "You're not the only one you couldn't save the girl he loved."

I know I don't have much time left so I go the house I once called my home, my mother and father laying asleep in their bed, her head resting on his shoulder, their fingers intertwined. "Goodbye Daddy." I say even though I know they can't hear me, "Goodbye Mommy, I love you both." I kiss their foreheads and a small smile appears on my mother's sleeping face.

Emilia is in the parlor, running her fingers over the grand black piano, her cheeks still wet with tears. I wrap my arms around her, "Goodbye Emi, thank you for always being there for me."

Peeta and Katniss sit on the porch of her house, the knees barely touching, their hands still locked with one another. I kiss Peeta on his forehead, as dozens of memories of lemonade and games of tag run through my head. "Goodbye Peetie, you're still my best friend." I hug Katniss' shoulders, "Goodbye Katniss, take care of him." She leans her head on his shoulder and I smile as he puts his arm around her, their lips molding to each other.

I find Haymitch and the young man still where I left them and I embrace Haymitch, "Goodbye Haymitch, thank you for everything, Godfather."

I kneel down next to Gale, his face tormented by the nightmares of the Games. At least he's not scowling. I wrap my arms around him for the last time, "Goodbye Gale, I love you." I kiss his cheeks and I see his face relax, some of the rage and pain leaving him.

"It's time to go." I turn to see her standing beside me, smiling slightly.

I turn back to look at the two broken men, "Will they be okay?"

"They will be, eventually." Eventually. I kiss Gale's cheek one last time, standing and facing my aunt. She is standing close to Haymitch, kissing his cheek once and taking some of his pain with her. She touches his face once more time before holding her hand out to me.

I take it, looking back once. My Godfather, his face full of twenty-four years of pain and regret and Gale, looking down at my grave with so much sadness in his eyes. There is a long road ahead of them, full of heartache and loss but I know eventually they will find themselves again, they'll find a way to become whole again.

_So what do you guys think? I know pretty depressing and sorry about the cussing! FYI: in this story the tributes don't get the three minuets to say goodbye to their loved ones after the Reaping. Reviews are always nice :) thanks for reading!_


End file.
